Emma and I went out to dinner last night at the Paramount Grill, which must be one of the best restaurants in Gainesville. It’s certainly way up there. We had the flatbread appetizer (always tasty) and she had a berry-something salad. I declined a salad, but had a glass of a splendid pinot noir, from David Bruce, I believe. You wouldn’t believe the beautiful aroma that this glass of wine gave off while it was just sitting on the table. Of course, the single glass cost more than I usually spend on a bottle (or two) of my usual rotgut, so you can take my overenthusiasm with a grain of salt.

For our main course, Emma had a vegetarian pasta which looked lovely and I had a very nice duck breast, rubbed in herbs and pan-seared, served over a tomato-spinach risotto with blue cheese and pine nut garnish. Yum. I haven’t been a fan of duck but am glad I took the chance last night. Exquisite.

For dessert, we shared a caramel pecan tart a la mode that was drizzled with a caramel sauce. Again, very nice. All in all, it was a very nice evening out, which is something we rarely get the chance to do.